The Journey
by Bayluff
Summary: Semi-AU, Post KH2. Frustrated with his treatment on Destiny Islands, Sora goes out to visit is friends in other worlds. On his way, he uncovers a new, and a familiar enemy. Riku/Sora
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story that I've been working on for years, since after I finished KH2 (which was in like...2006 I think. A long time ago). It's kind of a guilty pleasure for me, an angsty story of Sora going off after being rejected by Riku and Kairi, and I'm not sure if it really tickles anybody else' fancy, but I'll put it out there I guess lol. **

**So this is an AU, set after Kingdom Hearts 2. I made it so nobodies could attach themselves to other people's hearts. I also made it so Roxas could be contacted by Sora and project himself and take over Sora's body for a limited amount of time. I don't have much of an explanation, I just will it. XD If it bugs you I apologize.**

**There's a harsh amount of Kairi Bashing, because I hate her 3 If that bugs you again, I also apologize.**

**There will also be Riku/Sora. But Riku's gonna hafta work hard to regain Sora's trust XD**

**There's also gonna be a loooooot of fluff with Sora and his friends. So if that bugs you...I apologize. **

**Most of the Orgy Members will show up too, and this story will slowly have a different plot than Sora running around visiting friends. **

**Also, plot device of being able to transport around with the keyblade and Sora being able to go to worlds despite them not being "connected" because of the heartless. SO IF THAT BUGS YOU. I apologize. **

** Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I just own all the games. *hugs games happily)  
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**Chapter 1: Destiny Island**

Sora sighed quietly as he watched his two friends sit at the bent Paopu tree on the little island connected by a bridge to the rest of the island. He himself was seated with his knees up to his chest upon the little wooden walkway to the shipwrecked boat. He could hear Riku and Kairi giggling to each other as they talked about sweet nothings. Sora wished he was up there with them. He so wished to be happy with his two friends again.

Well, more like ex-friends, if you wanted to get technical. It all began when Sora and Riku returned from the realm of darkness. All their friends greeted them happily, glad that they were back. Donald, Goofy and the King had to leave, and Sora was sad to see his two partners leave him. But they had other duties, now that the heartless were gone (For now, as Mickey had said in their letter to them). After that, things were great for a few days; Sora was reunited with his parents, who had worried about him greatly when they remembered him.

But then, things started changing. All of a sudden, Riku and Kairi were getting extremely close. Sora didn't mind too much at first, but then he heard less and less from them, and saw them together more and more, without him. It wasn't until school started for them that Riku and Kairi were boasting about being a couple. Sora was shocked, as was the rest of their friends, but they were immediately excited afterward.

Sora used to have a crush on Kairi, but then as he got older, he mostly used it to cover up his curiously strong feelings for Riku. Having Riku with someone else and not including him, hurt Sora greatly. One day he has tried to tell Riku and Kairi of his feelings, but they just gave him the cold shoulder and told him to stop being selfish. Then Sora made the mistake a hesitantly telling Riku his feelings (not in too much detail though, but the two got the message.) They immediately told the entire school, Riku not sparing him a glance. Ever since he stayed as far away from anyone as possible, no one tried to bully him, for all he had to do was pull out his keyblade and they left him alone.

Now Sora was seventeen, two years since his last journey. Riku was eighteen (almost nineteen) and going into college, and Kairi was seventeen as well (almost eighteen). Riku had grown as handsome as ever, keeping his hair long, but cutting it before it hit the middle of his back. He was tall, a good head taller than Sora, who has basically stopped growing after he got out of his coma.

Sora was, to put it simply, just adorable. His hair was shiny and longer, but it was still unruly. His bright blue eyes never dulled from his outcast days, and in fact got bluer than ever and his skin stayed a nice golden tan. Sora mostly wore a long blue shirt and pants with different accessories from his last journey clothes, which he kept affectionately in his closet.

One big change, that Sora was actually grateful for, was the appearance of Roxas. It had been when Sora was recovering after a horrible day at school. He has been treated like he didn't exist, and even the teachers didn't acknowledge him. His parents had been gone, for they worked on the other side of the island most of the time. In his sadness, he had withdrawn to his heart, where Roxas was there, waiting for him. Sora had given one look at his strangely taller and blonde twin before sobbing and collapsing in his arms. Roxas had comforted him and spoken pleasantly with him, making him feel on top of the world again. Ever since, Roxas had been a tangible and comforting source of friendship for the brunette. When they were alone, Roxas would materialize, and they would have fun doing the things that he and Riku used to do, and during school Roxas would talk and laugh with Sora, and make Sora feel like things weren't so bad.

That is, until during the summer, Riku and Kairi announced they were getting married. Sora didn't like that triumphant look Kairi has given him when she announced it.

_"__Man, __did__ she __turn __evil.__"_ Roxas had said as Sora curled in his bed that night. _"__I__ feel __sorry __for __Namine.__"_

Sora was comforted that he wasn't imagining the sudden hatred from Kairi and tried to ignore it as they made plans for their wedding. Sora had gotten a job and a café, and enjoyed it. The boss lady was always kind to him, and had heard about how the other kids at school treated him and made sure to defend him if she heard them talking bad about poor Sora.

Sora sighed. He got up from his perch on the wooden walkway and jumped, landing in the water safely and trudged over to his boat, not caring that his pants were wet. Recently he was desperate to get away. He wanted to go out on a journey again, wanted to get away from this blasted island. He almost wished that the heartless would attack, but he knew that wasn't fair to the rest of the worlds out there and pushed those feelings aside. But he really wanted to see his old friends again, be with them and see them. He also wanted to see Donald and Goofy again. Actually, he craved it. He missed his two friends more than he thought he would, and he wished they would visit him. They would write letters to each other, but Goofy and Donald were busy and always apologized for not visiting.

Sora sighed as he rowed his boat back to the main island. "I'd give anything to go journeying again." He said aloud.

"_Then__ we__ should __go.__"_ Roxas said, appearing across from Sora. _"__I__'__m __sick __of __this __place __too. __There__'__s __no __reason __you __need __to __be __here. __No__ one __appreciates__ you, __and __Riku __and __Kairi __are __total __jerks.__"_

"I want to…but how?" Sora whispered. Roxas grinned.

_"__Simple, __we __contact __Cid__ and__ have __him __get __us __a__ Gummi__ Ship.__"_Roxas said.

"B-But how would I pay for it?" Sora stuttered. Roxas rolled his eyes.

_"__Save __up! __You __barely __spend __your __munny __anyway, __and __you __have __a __job __for __a __reason __ya __know.__"_Roxas grinned. Sora still looked unsure.

Roxas' eyes softened. _"__Sora__…__you__'__re __completely __miserable. __You__'__re __the __keyblade __master __who __has __friends __in __other __worlds! __You__ deserve __to __go __out __and __continue __to __connect __yourself __to __your __friends. __You __deserve __to __be __happy, __and __if __traveling __does __then __we __should __do__ it!__" __  
><em>  
>Sora sniffed, and smiled happily at Roxas. "You're…right. When I get home, I'll send a letter to Cid!" Roxas grinned and watched as Sora tied up his boat and ran back to his house. He suddenly stopped and turned to Roxas. "Let's not tell anyone though; although no one will probably notice me anyway..." Sora sighed sadly before turning and going back home, Roxas "floating" gently beside him.<p>

Sora was frustrated. It has taken him most of the night to get the letter to Cid, and now he was going to have to wait awhile before he heard back from him! Sora whined slightly and slapped Roxas' arms multiple times to release his frustration. Roxas whined too and returned the slapping. It soon turned into a wrestling match. Sora struggled valiantly, but Roxas soon was lying on top of Sora, and Sora was huffing and puffing exhaustedly, pouting at being pinned. Roxas grinned.

_"__Where__ do__ you __wanna __go __first_?" Roxas hummed, sitting up a bit to stare at Sora with a small grin. Sora beamed.

"Radiant Gardens!" Sora smiled.

_"__Really?__ I__ figured __you__'__d __wanna__ see __Donald __and__ Goofy __first.__" _Roxas teased. Sora grinned.

"Ya, but Cid will be there with my Gummi and I wanna see the committee too!" Sora smiled. Roxas returned the smile and got more comfortable on top of Sora, causing Sora to oof unhappily.

Riku was discontented. Ever since Kairi has told everyone that Sora liked Riku in a not quite a normal way, Sora had disappeared from everyone's lives. Riku missed his little brunette friend, probably more than he should. But Kairi kept him busy. When Riku had forced himself to propose to Kairi just to get her to stop bugging him, he immediately regretted it when Kairi boasted around, and he saw Sora face.

He flicked a piece of silver hair out of his face and stared quietly at the bustling Sora in the kitchen of the café. Riku was with Kairi, Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus at the café, and Sora just happened to be working there. Thus, Riku wasn't paying attention to the conversation and watching Sora. Recently he had taken on a new hobby, "Sora Watching". He noticed that for the past week, the little brunette seemed happier, almost like he was on a mission. He tilted his head when Sora bent over, but he shook his head and blushed and turned to see that all his friends were watching him. He glared. "What?"

Wakka grinned. "You seem distracted my friend." He said in a teasing voice. Kairi giggled and slapped Riku's shoulder.

"Oh Riku, you're so silly!" Kairi said in a giggly voice. Riku forced himself to not strangle her and turned away from them again. Tidus and Wakka said that they had to leave, because they had a game and Selphie immediately chimed in with an "I WANNA PLAY" and Tidus and Wakka begrudgingly allowed her company. Kairi then went on to say she wanted to go home, but Riku lied and told her that he has some errands to do so he couldn't take her home. She pouted and whined but Riku stayed firm.

Finally, she left.

Now maybe he could talk to Sora. He grinned slightly and rose from his chair.

Sora was happy. The other day he got a letter from Cid saying that he was getting his Gummi ready and all he had to do was use his key to transport himself over there. Cid had also given him the price for the gummy, and Sora was happy and disappointed because he had half of the required amount. So he worked double time for the café and was happy to see his savings grow higher and higher. Riku and his other friends were no longer bothering him, and when he slept he had dreams of flying with Peter Pan, fighting with Hercules, frolicking with Donald and Goofy and many other adventures with his other friends.

To say he was excited was an understatement.

Roxas was also very happy, because his other was happy.

Today the eternal keyblade master was bustling around the shop happily, cleaning and serving his costumers with a cheery smile. He was getting a lot of tips today. Sora was glad he was busy, because that meant he could ignore the group of friends in the corner. He has kept them in his peripheral vision, and was surprised to notice that Riku was staring at him. Recently Sora had noticed that Riku was gazing at him a lot.

He was relieved when the friends left, but he was surprised again that Riku hadn't left. He was surprised AGAIN to see that Riku had gotten up and was walking….walking towards him. Sora tried not to panic. The brunette felt his other gently pressed his hand to his shoulder and Sora looked up to see Roxas glaring daggers at the boy with the silver hair.

Riku walked up to Sora and Sora stared intently at the floor. There was an extremely awkward silence until Riku coughed.

"Sora…" He started and said boy melted, forgetting how beautiful his crush's voice has become. "Can I…talk to you?"

"I-I'm working…" Sora stuttered. Riku looked up to see Riku had a hurt expression. Sora remembered that expression. It was used when Riku thought he was abandoning Riku and Kairi for his other friends. Sora mentally snorted; how things changed around. He sighed and twiddled with his uniform. "B-But I suppose I can take my break…." Roxas made a noise of displeasure while Riku smiled happily.

"Great!" Riku grabbed Sora's hand gently and took him to the table he had been sitting at. Sora took a seat and stared at his fingers. There was silence once again, before Riku took the initiative.

"So…how are you Sora?" Sora tried not to burst into tears. How he's been? How he wished he could tell Riku exactly how he's been. But he reigned himself in.

"Fine." He said curtly.

Riku winced slightly. "Look Sora, I'm really, really sorry….I should have stopped Kairi fro-" Sora sighed, interrupting him.

"Look Riku, I have to go." Sora got up quickly and ran to the back of the store, leaving a sad Riku reaching out for him behind. If Riku felt guilty before, then you should see him now.

Sora sighed as he walked back to his home, Roxas floating invisibly beside him. He felt a little guilty for running from Riku. Especially since it seemed like Riku actually wanted to say something good to him. Sora stopped suddenly. "I should…go see him!" Sora said, turning and walking quickly towards Riku's house. Roxas made a noise of protest, but followed him begrudgingly anyway.

As they walked Roxas turned his gaze to the sky. "_You__ better __hurry, __looks __like __it__'__s __gonna __rain __pretty __soon.__" _Roxas said wisely, hearing a slightly boom coming from the sky. Sora nodded absentmindedly and continued on.

When he got there, he knocked on the door shyly, trying not turn around a bolt in the other direction. He was relieved when Riku's mom, a pleasant woman, answered the door. She blinked in surprise before beaming happily. "Sora!" She cried happily, ruffling his hair. He pouted but smiled at her. "I haven't seen you in so long. Please come in dear. Riku is upstairs!"

Sora smiled and gently walked down the plush carpet and up the stairs, being as quiet as possible, for reasons he wasn't really sure himself.

"Riku I don't understand why you were talking to him." He heard a girl's voice say in Riku's room. Sora winced and was unhappy to find that Kairi was there. He knew he should probably just turn around right now, but he had to hear what Riku was going to say.

"He's my friend Kairi, why can't I talk to him?" Riku said and Sora smiled.

"No he's not Riku! Sora's just a whiny brat who can't do anything by himself. He stole your keyblade remember?" Sora winced at that and he waited for Riku to say something. He didn't.

"And also…he's…ya know. He has feelings for you. Isn't that creepy?" Riku still didn't say anything. Sora felt tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Trust me Riku, you're better without that whiny, little, creepy brat. You have me!" Kairi said happily and Sora immediately turned and ran out of the house, surprising Riku's mom.

Sora sobbed slightly as he ran to his house, the rain falling around him, soaking him without mercy.

_"__That__'__s__ it!__"_ He heard Roxas yell and Sora found himself thrust into the back of his mind as Roxas took over. Sora wasn't too shocked, for this had happened before. However he just didn't expect it to happen now.

_"__We__'__re __leaving, __now.__"_Roxas growled.

Roxas grabbed a bag and threw a bunch of clothes and items into it and quickly wrote a note, placing all the hurt and anger that Sora felt into that letter. With that done, he ran outside. As soon as he got outside, he activated his keyblades and pointed them directly in front of him. Responding to his anger, the keyblade's power surged forward and suddenly there was a door in front of them.

Roxas sighed and gently put Sora to sleep before stepping into the welcoming light, leaving the rainy island of Destiny islands behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Radiant Gardens **

Sora groaned slightly as he slowly woke up from being asleep. He blinked innocently and looked around, noticing that he was in the area where he fought Sephiroth in his last journey. He chuckled to himself and stood up. He couldn't be expected to remember everywhere he's been. Suddenly it clicked in his head, he was in Radiant Gardens! He squealed happily and stood straighter and looked around. He noticed out in the distance that there was still the old castle of Hollow Bastian and he smiled at the memories that came to him. He wanted to go over there again, but he wasn't completely sure how. He also noticed that the beautiful area was glowing, and even though this place was deserted, he had a feeling that if he continued on he would reach civilization, even more then when he first came here.

He began to take a step when he heard a thud behind him. Before he could turn around he felt a horrible pain in his shoulder. Sora's blue eyes widened in pain and his mouth opened with a scream of pain before his voice no longer worked. Sora wheeled around and stared in surprise as he clutched his shoulder. In front of him was the One Winged Angel himself, Sephiroth. The silver hair man didn't have an expression on his face and was staring at him with hard eyes. He shivered as he saw his sword was covered in blood.

"S-Sephiroth…what do you w-want?" He stuttered, clenching his teeth in pain.

Sephiroth chuckled slightly and stepped closer. Sora tried to step away, but his legs collapsed and he cursed slightly as he was forced to the floor in front of the man. "You are important to Cloud…" Sephiroth said in his deep, unsympathetic voice. "What would happen if I destroyed you?"

Sora whimpered and summoned the keyblade, holding it out in front of him with one hand while the other held his hurt shoulder.

"Sephiroth!" A loud voice called and Sora was relieved to see a head of yellow jumping over the cliffs and landing neatly behind the silver hair angel. Sephiroth turned gracefully and smirked at Cloud.

"There you are…Cloud." Sephiroth smirked, lifting up his sword menacingly. Cloud snarled at him and looked over at Sora in concern. Sephiroth noticed the look at scowled. "It is no fun if you are not 100% in to the fight Cloud. I will be back…later."

With that, Sephiroth left as swiftly as he came. Cloud sheathed his sword and ran over to the hurt Sora.

"Sora?" Cloud asked in surprise and concern. Sora hadn't heard that amount of emotion in Cloud before, and Sora couldn't help but like it.

"H-Hey Cloud…I came to visit." Sora stuttered before falling unconscious.

~~~  
>When Sora woke up, the first thing he registered was that Roxas was screaming at him in concern. He startled and saw that he was in his mind, and Roxas was holding him in apprehension<em>. "Sora…what happened? I go to sleep for like, a few minutes and you're unconscious with a wound!"<br>_  
>Sora chuckled lightly and tried to get up, but Roxas wouldn't let him. "It's okay Roxas; Sephiroth jumped me and stabbed me in the shoulder. But Cloud was there and he saved me, so I'll be alright."<p>

Roxas sighed in concern and held Sora closer. _"Good…"_

Sora sighed and cuddled into his friend happily. "'M sorry I worried you…"

_"S'alright…just get some sleep now."_ Roxas said and Sora obeyed.

The next time he awoke, he was staring into the dark eyes of the greatest female ninja ever. He let out a startled cry and sat up, before he was forced back down at the tinge in his almost healed shoulder.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie chirped, "He's awake!"

Sora looked over and saw that he was in Merlin's house, and Cid, Leon, Cloud, Merlin, and Aerith was there. Sora smiled happily. "HI guys!" He yelped happily, sitting up and beaming at them excitedly. Yuffie immediately hugged him and went on about him being adorable even when he was mortally injured.

Leon sighed and rubbed his forehead and grabbed Yuffie by the back of her shirt and pulled her away from the choking boy. "Sora…" He sighed before smiling a Leon smile down at him. "What are you doing here?"

Sora pouted mockingly. "Aren't you glad to see me?" Aerith chuckled and patted Sora's brown spikes.

"Of course we are, we're just wonde-"

"You're probably here fer your Gummi ship right?" Cid said, swiping his finger under his nose. Sora nodded and smiled at him.

"Yup!" Sora giggled.

Cloud frowned. "But…why do you want a Gummi ship?"

Sora frowned and shrunk into himself pathetically. "I just…wanna see my old friends..s'all…"

They didn't buy it. "Sora….don't lie to us. What's wrong?" Merlin said, noticing his poor body language.

Sora sighed. "Do you…really wanna know?"

"Of course." Leon said, leaning against the wall and stared at him seriously. Sora sighed quietly and told them what was going on at Destiny Islands. When he was finished he was met with silence.

"Sora…" Aerith cooed and hugged him tightly. Sora leaned into the embrace happily. Cloud and Leon were clenching their fists angrily, but their expressions remained neutral except for the slight twitch in each of their eyebrows. Cid was snarling and cursing under his breath in anger and Yuffie tackle hugged Sora, causing both Aerith and Sora to yelp and fall over. Merlin was shaking his head in disappointment.

"Yeah…so I really needed to get away." Sora sighed, trying to escape from Yuffie's tight hold.

Leon sighed and walked up to him and ruffled his hair gently. "You have friends elsewhere Sora. It's their loss, because you're great." He seemed flustered at what he said and he immediately walked out of the house. Yuffie giggled and cooed a "he's so cute" at Leon's back before glomping Sora again. Apparently she thought this was the best way to comfort him. Sora sighed and laid down, wincing at his aching shoulder. Aerith smiled at him and patted his injured shoulder gently.

"Now go to sleep Sora, and I'll deal with your shoulder." Sora smiled at her and went to sleep. 

~~

When Riku woke up the next morning, he didn't feel good. There was something wrong…something missing. And he desperately wanted to know what. He walked out of the house after saying good bye to his mother and walked down the street. When he reached school he swiftly met up with his friends and walked down the hallway to his homeroom. As soon as he walked into the room he started to look around absentmindedly for his new hobby, and he instantly knew what was missing.

Riku went through the day anxious. He desperately wanted to hope that Sora was just sick and was at home today. But in his heart, he felt like that was not the case. After school he managed to shake off Kairi and he ran towards Sora's house. When he reached the house, he was surprised to see that the door was unlocked, but no one was home. He felt his heart go down to his stomach. He walked through Sora's home and he felt his throat knot at the memories the house presented to him.

Quickly taking the stairs to Sora's room, the silverette was surprised to see that the room was basically empty, except for a few things. He blinked when he saw a note sitting innocently on Sora's bed and picked it up.

_Dear whoever cares enough to read this,_

_I'm leaving, plain and simple. I miss my friends, and it's clear that my friends are not here. I worked my butt off to try and keep this island safe, and when I simply tell someone of my feelings, they are told to the world and I am shunned. It's not fair. But yeah, life isn't fair, is it? I'm disappointed in all of you, especially you, __**Riku.**___

_Good bye,_

_Sora_

_PS: Riku I heard you're conversation with Kairi. Sorry I was such a burden._

Riku had to hold back tear of shame by the time he had finished reading the letter, and the last sentence had his head hanging in embarrassment. Suddenly his mind grew angry, at himself and everyone.

"How could I be so stupid?" Riku snarled to himself, crushing the letter in his hand and pacing around the room. "Sora stood by you, even when you were a total idiot! And you repay him by listening to Kairi's lies and-and shunning him!" Riku knelt on the floor and slammed his head into his hands. Suddenly he looked up with blazing aquamarine eyes and stood up straight and ran his hand through his soft tresses.

"I'm going to get my friend back." He snarled unhappily. "And I'm going to beg for his forgiveness…and hope he still feels the same for me."

He marched out of the house to confront Kairi.

Meanwhile, Sora was completely happy. His shoulder was completely healed thanks to Aerith and he was playing tag with Yuffie. Right now he was it, but because she was an amazing Ninja, she kept disappearing, making the game much harder for Sora, but much more hilarious to bystanders. Thankfully before he could give up Yuffie got bored and had tackled Leon and now he was chasing her around angrily. He was sitting on the porch of Merlin's abode next to Cloud.

He was silent except for his humming, and he turned to Cloud innocently. "Hey Cloud?" Cloud hmed to show he was listening.

"Do you think that…I made the right decision leaving Destiny islands?" Sora said, looking away and fidgeting nervously.

Cloud looked surprised and he gently touched Sora's knee. "Of course Sora…you're the keyblade master…you'll be fine, I don't believe you will get in trouble for just going to visit your friends. And no, I don't think you'll set the heartless off." Cloud's mouth twitched slightly in an almost smile.

Sora sighed and looked up at him happily. "Thanks Cloud." Cloud's mouth almost smiled again.

~~

"Well Kid," Cid began, patting Sora's shoulder as Sora ooed and awed over his new Gummi ship. "It's done. Take good care of her a'right?"

"Of course!" Sora smiled. Roxas appeared next to him and ran into the Gummi ship, already attacking the food that the committee placed in the Gummi ship. Sora rolled his eyes before glomping each one of his friends. "Thank you! I'll come visit all the time, but I-"

"You wanna see Donald and Goofy right?" Aerith laughed.

Sora smiled and with one last wave he ran all the way into the Gummi and happily took the controls and took off from the cheerful place. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Luckily I have up to chapter 7 written. So updates will be rather quick for now.  
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**Chapter 3: Disney Castle**

Sora was bouncing up and down in his chair. He was so happy that there were no heartless to bug his flight, so he put the Gummi ship on auto pilot to the castle. Roxas was chowing down on some chips and trying not to eat all the sea salt ice cream. Roxas chuckled slightly. "_So are you excited?"_

"YES! I'm going to see Donald and Goofy again! I haven't seen them for so long!" Sora smiled. "We're almost there!"

When they got close enough, a video appeared in the screen of the Gummi. Chip and Dale were there, staring suspiciously at the ship. "State you're busine-…Sora!"

Sora smiled and waved with both hands. "Hey guys! Can I come in?" Chip and Dale began to jump around excitedly.

"Of course!" They cried and Dale went and pressed a button on the control panel. Sora saw a door open under the castle and Sora made a bee line for the opening that would get him to his friends.

When he reached the inside of the castle and parked his Gummi, he immediately found his body a climbing wall for the two happy chipmunks. Sora laughed and hugged the two and they did the simple conversation of "It's good to see you" and "What are you doing here" and "how are you doing?" Sora answered all those questions, but as much as he loved talking to his past Gummi mechanics, he really wished to go find Donald and Goofy. When the chipmunks seemed satisfied they had greeted him enough, Sora asked "Do you know where Donald and Goofy are?" Unfortunately Chip and Dale simply looked at each other and shrugged. Sora sighed but smiled and said he'd go find them.

Sora waved good bye to his friends and ran out of the workshop. He walked up the stairs and into the hallway. He almost summoned his keyblade, remembering all the heartless he had encountered before on his journey. He sighed and walked on. He looked out the window and saw Goofy sleeping in the beautiful courtyard below and he smiled and ran out to the courtyard.

As soon as he was in range of Goofy, he couldn't help himself any longer and he cried out "Goofy!" Goofy startled and sat up with a bleary expression until he registered who was in running towards him.

"Sora!" he cried, surprised but happy and suddenly he found himself with an armful of brunette spikes. Sora was hugging him desperately and he was embarrassed to find himself crying a little. "Sora…." He cooed, hugging him tightly.

"I missed you…." Sora cried, hugging Goofy tighter. Goofy chuckled and held Sora tightly, instantly feeling that something was wrong.

"D'aww I missed you to buddy…" Goofy smiled and nuzzled Sora's head with his big nose.

"Hey don't I get a hug?" A quaky voice called behind him and Sora let go of Goofy and turned to find the duck glaring at him and tapping his foot, but his eyes were smiling and he was smiling. Sora laughed and literally tackled Donald and hugged him tightly. Donald "d'awed" and hugged Sora tightly and they both oofed as Goofy picked them up and hugged them tightly. They laughed at a joke that wasn't said and Sora never felt happier.

Kairi was staring at Riku with her mouth open in horror. "W-What?"

"You heard me." Riku said emotionlessly. "Weddings off."

Kairi grew incredibly angry. "B-But why! We've been together for two years!" Riku sighed and tapped his foot impatiently, not wanting to explain all he discovered in the past few days.

"Let's just say, I finally figured out what's important to me." Riku sniffed, before turning around and leaving a humiliated Kairi to be comforted by her friends.

Sora, Donald and Goofy were sitting on the nice grass and chatting happily about different things that were going on. Sora had a happy smile on his face and was having fun talking to his friends. But then, the dreaded question Sora wasn't looking forward to answering came up.

"So what are you doing here Sora?" Donald asked, not unkindly.

Sora shrunk into himself slightly. Goofy was instantly concerned. "I-I'll tell you guys when we find the King… "

Donald gave him a look and quaked. "Alright Sora…"

Goofy gave his signature laugh and stood, pulling Sora up gently with him. "Well let's go find him! I'm curious now."

Donald stood and gave his agreement and Sora rubbed the back of his head shyly. "Okay…"

A few minutes later, Sora found himself in the giant throne room that belonged to King Mickey. Sora tilted his head and looked around. "Where is he?"

Donald and Goofy tilted their heads in confusion "I dunno…"

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise." A gentle voice said behind them. They turned and Sora smiled when he saw that it was Queen Minnie.

"Queen Minnie!" He chirped and trotted over to her and gave her a shy hug. The female mouse chuckled and patted his head affectionately.

"Hello Sora, what are you doing here?" Queen Minnie asked, also not unkindly. Sora looked uncomfortable, not really wanting to explain this to Queen Minnie, so he simply told her that he'd tell her the story when they found King Mickey.

"Oh," She replied. "He's actually in the library now. Come on." So they dutifully followed Queen Minnie down the hallway to the library. As soon as they got there, Goofy and Donald ran in and yelled,

"King Mickey, King Mickey!"

"Guess who's here!"

Mickey blinked and looked over to the door, and Sora stuck is big bush of brown spikes through the door and smiled at him happily. Mickey made a noise of surprise and ran over to him. "Sora!" He smiled and Sora happily hugged the king.

Goofy came over to Sora and directed him to a comfy chair. "Now tell us Sora!"

Donald agreed and plopped down in another chair. "Ya! We wanna know how you got here."

King Mickey crossed his arms and gave him his full attention. Queen Minnie and Daisy stood there as well, Sora gave Daisy a quick wave of greeting, and she smiled at him gently.

Sora sighed and hugged himself a little, and he felt Roxas pat his shoulder with an almost warm hand. "Okay…this is what happened."

By the time he finished with his story, Donald was pissed off, Goofy was petting Sora's head and Minnie and Daisy were upset and giving Sora a comforting gaze. But the one who was the most upset was Mickey. He looked shocked. "I can't believe that Riku did that...I expected better from him after what we went through." Mickey shook his head and gently patted Sora's knee.

"Yeah…so now I wanna go around and see all my friends again! I miss them and I missed you guys." Sora smiled. Mickey gave him a contemplating look.

"Sora…what are you going to do after you see all your friends again?" Mickey asked with a calculating voice.

Sora gave him a blank look before looking sheepish. He scratched the back of his head. "Um…I dunno…I'd rather not go back but I guess I don't really have a choice." Sora felt bad that he was reluctant to go to the place he worked so desperately to save.

Mickey smiled at him. "Sora, would you like to live here? As one of my knights?"

Sora's face was blank before it slowly transformed into awe as what Mickey said began to sink in. "R-really?"

Goofy and Donald looked ecstatic and they prodded Sora to accept. Mickey smiled and nodded. "Of course! You're the keyblade master. The only reason I didn't offer before was because I figured you'd decline anyway."

Sora squealed and hugged Mickey tightly. "Thank you, thank you!" Donald and Goofy tackled poor Sora and they laughed and bounced around like hyper kids.

King Mickey laughed at their antics and Minnie giggled and began whispering to Daisy about what they were going to do for Sora's new room.

Riku was wandering around aimlessly, trying to think of a plan to get him to wherever Sora might be, or might be going.

Sighing in anger he summoned his way to dawn and began slashing at nearby trees. Riku blew a piece of silver hair out of his face and thought of what he knew.

He remembered that Sora had a friend that could create Gummi ships…he just couldn't remember his name. He just knew it started with a C. Riku groaned before remembering that the friends Sora trusted the most other then Donald and Goofy were at Hollow Bastian, or, Radiant Gardens.

'Now how to get there…' Riku thought to himself before scratching his head gently with the Way to Dawn. He blinked and looked at it before slapping himself in the forehead. "Duh!" He said aloud.

Breathing deeply he carefully began controlling his darkness and easily (much to his surprise) made a dark portal. With a sigh to brace himself he stepped in, hoping that he made it to where he was trying to go.

Sora was currently running for his life. He yelled out in terror, but his smile was definitely throwing off his "I'm in danger" stance. Behind him was a cackling Goofy, his fingers wiggling evilly and were clearly trying to find their way to Sora's most ticklish spots.

The brunette flailed and took a tight corner only to almost run into Donald. He yelped and jumped over him easily, causing Donald to squawk with displeasure and took off again.

"You'll never catch me alive!" Sora cackled before laughing.

"Then we'll just have to catch you dead!" Donald yelled back, starting to take this seriously. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of Sora and the brunette yelped and jumped back and was caught by his two buddies. "Ah man!" Was the only thing Sora was able to get out before he was laughing uncontrollably.

Donald and Goofy were laughing as well, only much evilly as they tickled poor Sora without mercy. Sora squealed and tears began to leak out of his eyes as he begged "Okay okay! You can have the last slice of cake!" He cried.

With triumphant cries the knight and the mage skipped off to take their prize, leaving a pouting and breathless Sora behind.

When they were far enough away and Sora was about to go after them, he heard an "ahem" from behind. He turned around and laughed happily when he saw King Mickey standing there with a brand new, freshly baked cake.

Riku slowly stepped out of the portal he made and looked around. It was definitely different from when he was last here. He winced as he began to think of that time and quickly shoved it out of his brain. Now to find Sora's friends.

He began walking around for a bit and was beginning to grow discouraged. He remembered vaguely what some of Sora's friends from here looked like, but he wasn't sure how he would find them. Riku was about to grow discouraged when he saw a tall man with longish brown hair walking down some stairs. He recognized him as someone Sora talked about once…Leon…?

He ran up to him and asked. "Excuse me, but do you know a Sora?"

The one that he thought was Leon looked him up and down before anger clouded his eyes, which surprised Riku before he was suddenly punched in the gut and he blacked out. His last thoughts were "Oh man, what have I gotten into this time..?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Olympus Coliseum: Part 1**

****"Well I'll see you guys soon okay?" Sora chirped, waving at Donald and Goofy and everyone else who came to see him off.

"Bye Sora!" Mickey called. "You're room and knight's garb will be done by the time you return!"

Sora smiled excitedly. "Yay!"

"Where are you going first Sora?" Donald asked.

"Well…I think…Olympus Coliseum!" He chirped.

Goofy laughed. "You just wanna compete in some tournaments!"

Sora grinned cheekily before hopping into his Gummi ship with one last wave good bye and took off.

Roxas yawned and began to look through the newly restored provisions of food that the king happily gave them.

Sora snorted and gave Roxas a look. Roxas looked up, sensing the stare Sora sent at him. He glared. _"What?"_ He mumbled through the food in his mouth.

The brunette laughed. "And everyone says I'm a glutton!"

_"What's that supposed to mean!"_ Roxas growled, growing a piece of food at his other.

Sora just laughed and ducked and began his journey to Olympus Coliseum.

~~~~

When Riku came too he immediately felt soreness in his stomach and was greeted with heavy glares from a circle of people around him.

He blinked at them and sat up. "Um…hi?" He mumbled uncertainly.

"You're Riku, right?" A girl asked with long brown hair which and a pink dress with brown combat boots.

"…Yes?" Riku replied questioningly.

If looks could kill.

"You hurt Sora." A blonde, gruff looking old man growled, swiping a thumb under his nose with a scowl.

Riku brightened. "Then you know him?"

"Of course we do!" A black haired girl chirped, before remembering she had to be angry and returned to glaring.

"So, I guess he, uh, told you what happened?" Riku said sheepishly.

The stern glares were answer enough.

Riku sighed and shifted around so that his feet hung over the bed he was laying on. "Listen, I know what I did to Sora was stupid and hurtful and I'm disappointed and ashamed of myself that I let myself be tugged along by Kairi and all my other stupid friends. That's why, I'm looking for him. I wanna beg for his forgiveness, even though I don't deserve it." Riku said humbly, looking up at them sincerely.

The long brown haired girl and what looked to be a wizard (because of the long cap upon his head and the wand in his fist) seemed to soften up first. "Riku, what you did hurt Sora very badly." The woman scolded.

Riku winced and looked down. "I know, and it was so stupid of me because of all the things Sora did for me, but that's why I have to make it up to him." He looked up at them again, determination shining in his eyes. "That's why I have to make things right."

Everyone looked at each other before sighing in defeat. The brown haired man that punched Riku in the stomach crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Fine. Sora said that he was going to go visit Disney Castle. That's where you should go first."

Riku grinned at them gratefully before the smile fell off his face. "Ah man, Mickey is going to be so angry with me…"

The black haired girl grinned. "You deserve it."

Riku blinked and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I do."

~~~

Sora yawned tiredly and looked over at Roxas, who was passed out on the couch. He glared, wishing that he could take a nap, but since he was driving and he knew they were getting close to the world that he wanted to go to, he figured it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go to sleep now.

About ten minutes later and squealed happily and called for Roxas to wake up. Roxas yawned and wandered over tiredly, glaring at the Coliseum. _"Man, when I was in the organization Phil made me do all this training because he thought I was someone else."_

Sora laughed and poked him in the side. "No wonder you're so strong."

Roxas just glared.

Sora skipped happily throughout the underworld, decided that he wanted to visit Auron first. He patted the Olympus Stone that Sora had gratefully kept throughout the past two years and smiled. He dodged falling rocks and began wandering in a random direction.

After a few minutes he started to get irritated, so he left the east side and went to the west. He began to look around again and went down a side pathway that he hadn't ever gone down before. Before long, he was lost.

"Ah man…" He whined. "I don't wanna be lloosstt." Deciding that it was time to go to plan B, he cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled.

"AUURRONNN! AAUUUUUUUUUUURROONNN! AURON. AAURRON WHERE ARE YOU?" He called desperately and obnoxiously.

He was about to call again when a hand suddenly slammed over his mouth. He squealed in fear and flailed but a comforting voice said to calm down into his ear. He turned around and brightened when he saw who it was.

"Auron!" Sora cried happily, glomping him. Auron chuckled and patted Sora on his head with the arm that wasn't resting comfortably in his shirt.

"Hello Sora," He said calmly with a smile. "It's been awhile has it not?"

Sora grinned and nodded his head. "Yes it has! How are you Auron?"

Auron shrugged lightly. "I am in the process of writing my own story."

Sora smiled. "That's good."

Auron smiled and indicated for Sora to follow him. "It is."

The brunette trotted after the strong man and looked around. "I got lost." Sora stated.

Auron chuckled again. "I realized." They slowly began to appear in areas that Sora recognized and soon the keyblade bearer was at the entrance of the underworld.

"Thanks Auron!" Sora chirped. The black/grey haired man chuckled once again and rubbed Sora head.

"It was good to see you." Auron stated.

"I'll visit again! And maybe this time I won't get lost!" Sora smiled, beginning to trot up the staircase.

Auron grinned and waved good bye before disappearing.

~~~

Sora trotted across the sandy area that led to the newly re-built Olympus coliseum. Now that the heartless were gone, more people were wondering around and Sora liked that the coliseum seemed so alive.

Looking at a sign he smiled when he saw that Hercules was doing one on one fights today. He grinned evilly and went into the Vestibule to sign up.

When Sora walked in he smiled when he saw Phil talking to someone, a strong looking fighter by the looks of it, his back turned to him. Sora grinned and sneaked up behind Phil, causing the fighter to stop talking and stare at him curiously.

"Huh? What's up A-" Phil started, only to yelp in (manly) surprise when Sora suddenly lunged forward and clapped his hands on Phil's shoulders, yelling an unintelligible garble.

"WHAT THE!" He yelled, turning around. His eyes suddenly widened and he grinned, his earlier surprise (fear) forgotten. "Sora!"

Soras giggled and leaned down to let the satyr mess up his hair and shove him in the shoulder playfully. "What are you doing here you scamp!" He grinned.

Sora smiled cheekily. "To sign up for the games, duh!"

Phil grinned. "I got two words for ya kid, you. Are. In!" Sora muttered "Its three words…" But Phil had already turned away to put his name on the roster.

Sora giggled and stood up again, looking up to see that the same fighter was standing there, staring at him. Sora blushed lightly, the guy was pretty handsome. He was tall, around the height of Riku, and had short black hair that fell over onto his right eye in a few strands. His eyes was a redish black and Sora could see the many muscles rippling underneath his dark green muscle shirt and the red/black pants he wore. He also wore many belts, some decorating his arms and wrists, while many hung around his waist. He also had a medium sized sword that he held in his hand, and Sora could see the scab board hanging off his hip.

The handsome man looked Sora up and down before grinning and sticking out his hand.

"Hello, my name is Acervus."

Sora grinned. "Hi! My name is-"

"Sora," Acervus grinned, "I heard Phil say it."

Sora blushed lightly again. "I see, are you gonna fight against Herc too?"

Acervus laughed. "Yeah, I am. I take it you are as well."

The brunette nodded, pink still tinting his cheeks.

Suddenly Acervus seemed to hear something and he grinned at Sora apologetically.

"Sorry, gotta go. I hope I'll see you around, So-ra." He grinned, the way he said his name making Sora blush again.

"O-Okay, bye!" Sora stuttered, watching him wave and walk out of the Vestibule. Suddenly the keyblade bearer heard a growl behind him and turned to see Roxas floating there, arms cross, with his dark blue eyes glaring angrily at the door Acervus had left out of.

"Roxas? Something wrong?" Sora asked, slightly concerned.

_"I don't like him."_ Roxas snapped bluntly, causing Sora to flinch slightly.

"But we just met him!" Sora tried to defend.

"_Don't care, I can tell that guy's bad news. Stay away from him Sora_." Roxas warned, giving him a rather scolding glare.

Sora rolled his eyes. "What are you, my mother?"

Then it was Roxas' turn to roll his eyes and he looked like he was about to say more, but then Phil came back in to collect the challengers. Sora looked over at Roxas one more time before the nobody disappeared back into Sora's heart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Olympus Coliseum Part 2**

"You know, you're an idiot." Riku's eyes snapped open in surprise and he jerked up quickly. Looking around he saw he was in a dark abyss, something he was rather used to.

Standing up and summoned Way to Dawn and growled "Who said that?"

"I did! You know, I fought my way from the Land Of Darkness, slashed my way through the hoards of heartless protecting the door and hopped from heart to heart, slowly making my way to Destiny Islands when I find out the person I've been looking for left because of you!"

"…Why are you looking for Sora?" Riku asked slowly, slowly turning his head to where he heard the voice coming from.

"Not Sora!" A spiky red haired man suddenly stepped out of the darkness and glared at him. "Roxas! And since Sora's his "house" right now and you made Sora leave, Roxas of course, had to go with him. So NOW all I've done is for nothing!" He was suddenly in front of Riku and began shaking his shoulders angrily. "NOTHING! Got it memorized?"

"Wait…Axel?" Riku gasped out, gripping the red head's wrists to make him stop shaking his shoulders. "You're Axel right?"

Axel tugged his wrists away and crossed his arms with a pout. "Yeah. I'm surprised you remembered a nobody like me." He grinned slightly at his pun before pouting again.

Riku sighed. "Look I'm sorry, but I'm gonna bring Sora back."

Axel suddenly grinned evilly at him. "I know. Which is why I'm gonna help you!"

Riku suddenly looked unsure. "Wait…what?"

Axel snickered. "Yup. Until we find Roxas, you're gonna have me in your heart. For as long. As. It. Takes."

Riku stared at him for a few minutes before swiftly turning around and walking away. Axel gaped and flailed his arms. "YOU CAN'T JUST WALK AWAY FROM THIS YOU ASS!"

Sora peeked out from the waiting area of the Coliseum to watch Acervus fight against Hercules. He blushed unconsciously as he watched how he expertly handled his sword, but he could tell that he was losing. While Sora didn't usually like being confident, he had fought Hercules so many times he figured out the usual style in which Hercules fought and he was sure that he'd probably win when it was his turn to fight.

When Hercules finally dealt the finishing blow and Acervus was forced to the floor Sora couldn't help but feel bad for the handsome man. Acervus groaned but accepted the hand Hercules held out to him to help him up. Acervus made his way back through the waiting area as Hercules posed for his screaming fans. Sora blushed lightly and smiled sympathetically at Acervus as he walked by. "I thought you did good Acervus."

Acervus grinned cheekily at him. "Why thank you. Are you next?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah. Ya know, as soon as he's done showing off." The brunette giggled. He glanced over and saw that Roxas had come out and was growling and glaring at Acervus. Sora sent him a disapproving glare, which Roxas ignored before smiling one more time at the chuckling black haired man before making his way out to the arena.

Hercules' back was turned to the keyblade master as he came into the Arena and Sora couldn't help but laugh at how much Hercules enjoyed the attention he was given. Hercules jumped and turned around before smiling widely. "Sora!" The god cried, running up and pulling Sora into a headlock and rubbing his knuckles against the brunette's head.

"Ah! Hercules ddooonntt!" Sora whined, flailing his arms, but didn't try to cover his giggling. The crowd stared at the two strangely.

Sora finally managed to push the hero off of him and grinned. "Hi Herc!"

Hercules grinned. "Sora! What are you doing here?"

"Well, obviously I'm here to beat you!" Sora said arrogantly with a sweet smile. Hercules rolled his eyes and jumped back a few steps before getting into his fighting position.

Sora laughed and summoned his keyblade and got into his fighting stance before he heard the referee give the go ahead to start. As usual, Herc made the first move and Sora effortlessly dodged out of the way and jumped over Hercules' head when he turned around for a follow up. Noticing the gold in Hercules complexion, Sora soared over to a nearby barrel and threw it at him.

"Bah! Sora!" Hercules complained, distracted enough for his invincibility to wear off. Sora laughed and shot forward.

"If you don't like it you should set those barrels up!" He cried before whacking Hercules a few times before jumping back to dodge a punch at him.

This went on for a while, both of them fighting their hardest but never getting frustrated. It had been awhile and Sora was glad that he was able to practice his fighting skills again. Finally Sora managed a few lucky hits and Hercules fell to one knee, panting heavily.

"Yay!" Sora crowed. "I win!" The crowd was silent for a bit before they began to cheer, clearly surprised.

Hercules groaned and stood up. "Darnit Sora, when will you just let me win?" Sora grinned cheekily at him and punched him in the arm teasingly.

"Oh maybe…never." Hercules growled mockingly before grabbing Sora around the waist and hoisting him up onto his shoulder.

"AHHH! Herc put me doowwwnn!" Sora wailed, crashing his small fists against Hercules back.

The god laughed and sauntered off of the battle field. "Nah I don't think so." Sora whined and fell limp, glaring angrily at his back.

Hercules sauntered back into the vestibule and gently set Sora down, patting him on the head, causing brunette to pout. Phil meandered over and pinned Sora down with a look. "Kay Sora, now that the games are out of the way, why don't you tell us why you're really here."

Sora blinked before looking down bashfully. Hercules crossed his arms and nodded. "Yeah Sora, and don't try to lie either! As soon as I saw you I knew something was wrong."

Sora looked up unhappily. "Am I really that easy to see through?" Hercules laughed at the innocent question.

"Okay well…things were getting kind of depressing at home so I just needed to get away for awhile ya know?" Sora said bashfully, desperately hoping they wouldn't ask for him to elaborate. Hercules and Phil nodded.

"Yeah kid, I'm sure it'd be kind of tough just staying home when you've been so many places." Phil said in an understanding tone.

Hercules grinned and ruffled Sora's hair. "It was great seeing you anyway Sora." Sora smiled happily at them before giving them both a bear hug before yelling his good byes and skipping out of the vestibule. The two chuckled and wondered over to start making plans for another event, not noticing the eyes that followed Sora out the door.

"Do we really have to do this? He's a good kid…"

"It is not your job to ask questions. Just do as I say and you will have your side of the bargain…"

Roxas was bored. Sora was sleeping, and Roxas got bored of drawing little things on Spirit Sora's face and began to wander around aimlessly. The blonde let his mind wander as he strolled around Sora's heart. Without realizing it, Roxas found himself farther from the light of Sora's heart then he usually went. Roxas looked around and could see a faint dot that he knew was where Sora's mind was before turning to where he was headed.

With a slight tilt of the head he continued on. For a little while all he could see was darkness and when he turned his head he couldn't see Sora's heart anymore. A little panicked he turned to head back when he suddenly felt warmth on his back. Turning back around slowly, Roxas looked up to see a door sitting innocently up ahead. Feeling curious, Roxas walked up to the door and brought out one of his keyblades. With a quick flick of the wrist the door opened and Roxas stared into a very white room that reminded him greatly of Castle Oblivion.

Wandering in, he went into the middle of the area and watched the pulsing designs of the room with mild interest.

"I'm kind of surprised you found this place. It'd been pushed into the back of his mind for so long. Although it's not his fault really…" A voice behind him made Roxas jump ten feet in the air and spin around to find…himself. Wearing different clothes.

"…W-what? Who…" Roxas stuttered out. The other blonde smiled at him kindly.

"It is not time to find out that yet. You will eventually though. So will Sora." Suddenly the room, and the boy was gone and Roxas found himself staring at the spirit of the sleeping brunette with more questions in his head than ever.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the nice feedback and story fav/alerts~ This is unfortunately the last chapter that's completely written. Chapter seven is about half done though.  
><strong>

**Chapter 6: Beast's Castle **

Riku was grumpy. Well, grumpier then he usually was, and the source of his grumpiness was floating cheerfully next to him. As he was waiting for Cid to be done with his Gummi ship, he decided to venture off into the town of Radiant garden. Axel decided to join him.

"Wow this place is awesome!" Axel said happily, his head turning everywhere. Riku just grunted unhappily.

Suddenly, Axel noticed something. He stopped, grabbing Riku's shoulder and pointing at a store. "Get me one. Now."

Riku groaned and looked at the store. "What would you want with a Sea Salt ice cream store?"

"Get me one now!" Axel reiterated, shaking the silverette's shoulder roughly.

"No! We're right in the middle of the friggin' town square and I'm not going to be questioned about why I just gave ice cream to thin air!" Riku growled, shoving Axel's hand from his shoulder.

The red head stared at him.

Riku stared back, slowly getting creeped out. "I won't."

Axel just stared unblinkingly. Riku quickly realized that people were starting to stare at him, and sighed. "Fine, go stand by that wall and I'll get you one…"

"Hurray!" Axel cheered and skipped dutifully over to the wall. Riku sighed and walked up to the…duck running the store.

"One please."

~  
>"<em>I'm not happy."<em>Roxas declared as they walked up to Beast's Castle entrance doors.

Sora rolled his eyes. "You're never happy."

Roxas glared. _"I am too! But that's not the point, this place brings back bad memories…"_

Sora sighed. "I had to fight Xaldin here, and you don't see me complaining!"

Roxas glared harder. _"Xaldin's a pushover." _

Sora gasped. "LIES. HE WAS HARD TO FIGHT."

Roxas grinned cheekily. "_Wimp."_

Sora began slapping Roxas wildly, which Roxas returned before they realized something. The castle wasn't as dreary as they remembered it to be.

"Ya know, the garden looks more tended too, everything's greener and," Sora turned his head to look down the bridge and into the forest outside the gate, "the forest even seems more welcoming."

_"We're gonna die."_ Roxas said in a monotone voice, floating up the steps to the door before stopping. _"Hey, wanna see a secret entrance? _

"Secret entrance?" Sora repeated, watching as Roxas floated over to a stone in the wall.

_"Yeah, this is how I got in when I was in the Organization."_ Roxas informed, pointing at the stone. _"It should be loose, use your keyblade."  
><em>  
>It took Sora a few tries, but he was able to move the stone aside and he stared at the tunnel in wonder. "But it feels weird, it's like we're breaking in or something."<p>

_"That's because we are Sora."_ Roxas grinned. "_Now move it."_

Sora pouted. "Fiiinnneee…."

"So are you pleased now?" Riku asked in boredom, watching as Axel sucked up the ice cream on the stick.

_"Yes! You will get me another one tomorrow, got it memorized?"_Axel commanded, wagging a finger in Riku's direction.

The silverette rolled his eyes. "Do you really like the stuff so much?"

Axel got strangely quiet before sighing. _"It's not really cause I like it, it brings back good memories…ya know, when I was with Roxas and stuff."_

Riku was silent for a bit before saying, "Look, I'm sorry okay, I would have gladly left Roxas alone if…"

The red head gave a long suffering sigh. _"I know."_

"Secret, aggeent man, secret, aggeent man…"

_"Sora, shut up."_Roxas groaned, having dealt with Sora singing that song all through the journey through the tunnel.

Sora giggled. "So now what?"

"_There should be a hole that leads into the ball room."_Roxas told him, pointing to a small hallway.

"Okay!" Sora chirped, following Roxas' directions and soon reached a hole. Peeking out he indeed saw the balcony for the ballroom.

"Hurray!" Sora cried, jumping through before swiftly jumping down into the ballroom.

Roxas floated down leisurely and watched as Sora went over and pushed the ballroom doors open.

"It's…so bright!" Sora cried, looking around the castle. "What do you think happened?"

Roxas shrugged unhelpfully.

"Sora?"

Said boy blinked and looked over and saw a human standing there. The human suddenly grinned and grabbed Sora by the shoulder and shook him good naturedly. "My boy, it is good to see you!" He cried in a French accent.

"..Lumiere?" Sora gasped. "You're…human! Does that mean…?"

"Yes! The spell was broken my friend, the entire castle is back to normal!" The past candelabra smiled.

Sora laughed happily. "So the beast is…?"

"Come see for yourself!" Lumiere cried, leading him down to the east hall.

The brunette tensed slightly as they walked through the hall, the memories of heartless appearing out of nowhere still haunting him. He felt Roxas shudder next to him. "What is it?" Sora whispered.

_"Saix is an asshole_." Roxas replied, remembering the time he had to break all the pots in this area and was harassed by the heartless ghosts.

"Okay…?" Sora replied, hopping up the steps as he followed the maître d.

When they finally reached the Beast's room (Or, Prince Adam as Lumiere told him), Sora couldn't help but knock on the door excitedly. "I can't wait to see what he looks like un-furry!" Sora chirped, causing Lumiere to laugh.

"Sora?" A stiff voice rang out behind him. Sora whipped around and smiled when he saw another human.

"Wait! I wanna guess. Mmmmm…" Sora studied him carefully as the man rolled his eyes with a sigh and tapped his foot. "Cogsworth!" Sora chirped.

"Correct." Cogsworth sighed with a small upturn of his lips. "Come for a visit have we?"

"Yup!" Sora chirped.

Cogsworth hummed quietly before saying, "How exactly did you get in Sora? I don't remember letting anyone in."

Sora froze for a second. "Uhh…" Luckily, the keyblade master was saved as the door opened and a tall brunette looked out into the hall.

"Beast!" Sora chirped before blushing, "I-I mean, Prince Adam!"

The former beast looked surprised before a wide smile appeared on his face and he enveloped Sora in a hug. "Sora! I have not seen you for so long!"

Sora flailed _("Why is everyone so much bigger than me!"_Sora thought) and laughed, "I came to visit!" Adam finally let go and Sora looked up at him with wide eyes, taking in the long brunette hair and the handsome face.

"It's weird!" Sora declared. "I'm so used to you being fuzzy!"

Adam laughed quietly and patted him on the head. "I have to admit, I'm still not completely used to being human."

Sora giggled. "Where's Belle?" He asked happily.

Adam smiled dreamily. "I think she's out in the garden."

"Well let's go see her!" Sora chirped, grabbing the bigger man's hand and dragging him to the exit of the east hall. Adam allowed himself to be dragged with a laugh.

After getting lost and having Adam lead him in the right direction, they finally reached the back garden. Sora immediately started staring at the flowers and smelling them. Roxas decided that a flower bed was a nice place for a nap and quickly collapsed on it, the flowers not even acknowledging his existence. Sora stared at him strangely. "You look weird."

"_Well you always look weird."_Roxas replied easily.

Sora pouted and looked over at Adam who was staring at him strangely. Sora gave him a 100 watt grin before looking around. He spotted a woman hunched over a patch of roses and gave a big grin. "Belllllle!" He called, waving his arms around as Adam came up beside him.

The lady looked up with confusion at the unfamiliar voice before her eyes widened and a big smile crossed her face. "Sora!" She replied as the brunette skipped up to her. She got up and dusted up her hands and wrapped him in a hug which the brunette gladly returned.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" Belle declared, ruffling his hair affectionately. Sora grinned.

"I know! That's why I came to visit!" Sora looked around the pretty garden happily. "Everything is so nice now!"

Belle giggled as Adam came up and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Yes, I really do like the castle the way it is now."

Sora laughed and opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly had a bad feeling. He saw Adam tense and knew that he felt it too. "What…?" Sora started.

The sky was slowly turning darker and Adam gripped Belle tightly as a snarl came from his mouth, obviously something kept from his beast days.

Sora felt Roxas come up next to him. "What's…going on?" The brunette gasped, looking over at Roxas who shrugged.

All of a sudden, familiar white shapes surrounded them and Sora let out a gasp of absolute surprise.

"Nobodies…?" Sora exclaimed as Adam turned to face the Dusks. "But…how!"

Roxas grimaced_. "I don't know, but I feel something is very wrong…"_

One of the dusks decided to stop swaying long enough to charge forward. Sora gasped and summoned his keyblade, running towards the nobody and swiping it, destroying it quickly.

"Come on Belle!" Adam growled, running them towards the castle as more Dusks and Creepers started appearing everywhere around the garden.

"I refuse to let this happen again!" Sora yelled, surging forward and slashing through the nobodies with a passion.


End file.
